


Don't Look Down

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Carnival, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, M/M, Minor Violence, Underage Drinking, Unsafe Sex, Whirlwind Romance, because fireworks, but kinda literally because tilt-a-whirls and stuff, fast burn, last summer before college, like a really really fast burn, mentions of vomit, not like unprotected sex but like unsafe as in where they're doing it at
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-18 19:35:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15493146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: Link has talked Rhett into working at the local summer carnival on their last summer together before they go their separate ways for college. It's not quite the summer of fun Rhett anticipated when he ends up stuck manning the worst rides and cleaning up a lot of messes, but at least it puts him closer to his best friend-turned-crush. But now that Link's giving off some strange vibes, Rhett's stomach is hurting worse than three back-to-back trips on the teacups. As sweet and fluffy as cotton candy and as steamy as thighs on hot tilt-a-whirl seats, this is going to be one summer that Rhett will NEVER forget.





	1. Drunk On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summery songs to get you into the right vibe for this one:
> 
> Sober- Childish Gambino  
> Skylight- Gramatik  
> Jubel- Kingande  
> Feel It All Around- Washed Out  
> Can’t Stop Now- Major Lazer ft Mr Vegas and Jovi Rockwell

Link had promised Rhett they’d have an amazing summer together. Instead, Link had scored a cushy gig all the way on the other side of the carnival working the goldfish game, and Rhett was in the heat, pouring sawdust onto vomit for the third time that day.

_ Summer fun, my ass _ , Rhett thought. This seemed like the worst way to spend a summer and he wasn’t even a week into the work. If Link hadn’t begged him to apply at the same place so they could work together for a change, Rhett never would have done it. Freaking Link and his freaking big ideas. Rhett swept the sawdust into a bucket, then slumped down into a chair, chugging the lukewarm water from his water bottle. He knew that decision would probably bite him in the ass later, that he’d likely need to take a leak long before he got a break, but it was hot and he was tired. It seemed refreshing.  _ Seven more hours,  _ Rhett thought, looking at his watch. Somehow it seemed like the day had been much longer than that already. Time couldn’t move fast enough.

Weekdays at the carnival were slow, time creeping by at a snail’s pace. Rhett pushed the button, starting the ride for the only child who’d bothered to get on it in the last half hour. He didn’t hear Link approach until Link slapped his ass like he was tagging Rhett in for the game. “What the heck?” Rhett asked, whipping around to be met face-to-face with a toothy grin from his best friend. He rubbed a hand over the place Link had slapped him.

“You ready for a break, man? Mike said after this ride, you’ve got to swap out, go grab some lunch before the evening rush. Then he needs you over on the teacups.”

“The teacups?” Rhett whined. He thought the Hurricane at midday was a lot of puke to clean up, but that was nothing compared to what the teacups would be like a couple hours into kids having stuffed their faces with funnel cakes and cotton candy.

“Yeah, Rhett. The teacups. You’re new, bo. You’ll get there.”

Link’s encouragement wasn’t helpful. Sure, he’d had a year of experience working the carnival, but he hadn’t used it to help Rhett dodge the worst jobs on the midway. “Yeah, okay. You on lunch, too?” Rhett asked, pressing the button that slowed and then stopped the ride altogether.

“Yeah,” Link answered. “Those corn dogs are calling my name.” Link reached past Rhett to lock the ride controls, removing the key, and stuck it in his back pocket while Rhett placed a small sign that said  _ Closed  _ on the gate. It wasn’t unusual during the slower weekdays to close a ride for them to go on break. After all, there were dozens of rides around, and on the ride Rhett was working? Well, there might be a person or two riding every twenty minutes. It wasn’t worth staffing to keep it open, not during the daytime.

“We’ve had corn dogs every meal since we started working,” Rhett complained. “I want a walking taco, man.” Rhett rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Three days of corn dogs were enough for him. He was ready for something different, and a walking taco was where it was at.

He and Link split up to order their food, but in the near-empty midway, it was pretty easy to find Link straddling a bench at a picnic table, taking large bites of the corn dog he was quickly devouring. Rhett’s meal took longer to make, which meant less time for him to talk to Link on break. Lately, that was better. Less time to talk to Link meant less time spent tongue-tied. Until this summer, he’d never had trouble talking to Link. After all, they were best friends, and they always seemed to be on the same page. But something had changed as graduation approached, a sense of time running out, and Link had changed, too, gotten stronger and more handsome.

If Rhett was honest with himself, he’d fallen for his best friend  _ hard _ . Head over heels, loop-o-plane arm over loop-o-plane arm, and ugh. Talking to him lately sucked. It made it far too likely Rhett might slip up, say the wrong thing, and ruin their friendship in their last summer together. In the fall, Link would be a Tar Heel, and Rhett was diving headfirst into the WolfPack. For them, this was the last chance texaco, the only summer between them and the rest of their lives… so now? It wasn’t exactly the best time for Rhett to be making wild revelations to his friend. He just wanted to enjoy one last summer. Or at least, to survive it.

Rhett shoveled a forkful of chips, meat, and lettuce into his mouth, crunching obnoxiously as he waggled his fork toward Link’s corndog. “You’re crazy, man. How many corn dogs are you going to eat this summer?”

“You can never have too many, Rhett. You can never have too many,” he grinned. Link took a bite, then nudged a paper boat toward Rhett, forcing a cloud of powdered sugar to rise up from the lump inside of it. “Here. Got you a deep fried Twinkie for dessert.”

“Oh,” Rhett said. “Thanks.” He reached for his wallet, but Link waved his hand away.

“You get the next one.”

“Thanks,” Rhett repeated, tilting the walking taco bag up to knock the last bits into his mouth. He crumpled the bag, turning his back to Link to aim for the nearest trash can, sinking the shot without much effort. “Deep fried Twinkie, huh?”

“Fair favorite,” Link said, attempting to toss his corn dog stick into the trash, then watching as it bounced off and missed. He sighed, mock-slamming his head against the table in frustration. Rhett stood, picking the stick off of the ground and tossing it in.

“You suck,” Rhett offered, but Link rolled his eyes, biting into his Twinkie. Rhett watched as Link poked his tongue into the center, lapping at the filling inside and dragging it out with his tongue. It was practically obscene, the way Link sucked on the end of it until the cream filling was smudged on his lips. “Could you be any more disgusting?” Rhett asked. He rolled his eyes, then shifted on the bench he was sitting on, tugging at his jeans inconspicuously in hopes of hiding the fact that watching Link with a deep fried Twinkie was just about too much for him. He wondered how much he could get away with, if he could somehow get himself to calm down without Link noticing, but after palming at himself a couple of times, he worried it might get obvious.

“Come on, Rhett, the cream filling is the best part…” Link lapped at the cream filling again, letting out a soft moan. “Taste it!”

“I’ve tasted Twinkie cream before, Link, god,” Rhett responded. He could practically feel the blush rising to his cheeks as he looked down at the Twinkie and took a bite. “You know you can eat these without being completely obscene, right?”

“Yeah, what’s the fun in that?” Link asked, poking his tongue deep inside of the Twinkie and locking eyes with Rhett. “You’re easy to screw with,” Link grinned, popping the other half of the Twinkie into his mouth in a single bite. “Come on. We gotta get back, man. Those teacups won’t turn themselves!”

“I don’t turn the teacups, either. That’s kind of the whole point,” Rhett muttered, discarding the paper boat the Twinkie had been in and taking a bite of it as he followed behind Link. “But sure. I’ll have fun on the teacups while you go work your cushy goldfish job. See you later?”

“Yeah, man. Don’t forget, we’ve got plans tomorrow night!”

Link hadn’t let on what the plans were, instead telling Rhett to keep the night free and that he’d totally like what Link had to show him. He wasn’t keen on surprises, but Link usually had good ideas, so if he was behind the scheme, Rhett was in. Anything beat being at the carnival for another second.

 

The next day, the day they’d planned to hang out after work, couldn’t have been over soon enough for Rhett. He’d been on a steady rotation between the Hurricane, which involved some puke, the Teacups, which involved even more puke, and the Human Slingshot, which involved not only puke, but two sets of wet pants and an EMT call. He was more than ready for a break.

But as the park closed for the night, the bright carnival lights sparkling in the air, Rhett had to admit it was gorgeous. He understood the appeal. Despite the gross parts of his job, he loved watching the smiling faces of kids who had ridden a mini roller coaster for the first time ever, or watching young couples flirt and feed each other bites of cotton candy. The laughter that erupted from people of all ages enjoying the carnival made it worth being a part of. He knew why working there could be a great experience. It made people happy, and it was hard not to love the contagious feeling that came with working there and making their day better.

That said, Rhett had seen enough disgusting moments to be happy the next day would be his day off. The summer carnival was always closed on Sundays, likely from the realization that in North Carolina, everyone would have their butt in a church pew. Who would come out to the carnival grounds for the afternoon when they were still full from their mama’s Sunday fried chicken?

Besides, Rhett had been looking forward to the promise of whatever surprise plans Link had for him after work that night. Knowing Link, it would be the same old weekend stuff, swimming at the river or talking on the rocks before driving home for the night. He locked up his ride and hung the small “closed” sign on the gate for it, thinking about how whatever Link had planned didn’t matter… it was time with Link, so he certainly wasn’t about to complain.

“Hey!” Link sprinted toward Rhett, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. He was too close in Rhett’s space, as if he’d been unable to stop himself at the last second, so Rhett took a step back to distance them.

“Hey,” Rhett replied. “You going to finally stop screwing with me and tell me what our mystery plans are?”

“No,” Link said, smiling. “You’re gonna have to follow me.” Link bolted between two rides without warning and Rhett tried his hardest to keep up. Link was running in the opposite direction of the carnival exit, and Rhett had no idea what had gotten into him. “Come on, Rhett!” Link hollered. He glanced over his shoulder long enough to see if Rhett was following or not, then continued full steam ahead.

“I’m coming,” Rhett shouted, picking up the pace until he was falling in line next to Link, trying his hardest not to trip over the power cord covers in the dark. “What are we doing?”

Link shook his head in response, refusing to answer, and slowing down only when they reached the bumper cars, still twinkling brightly and playing loud music even after all of the guests had gone home for the night. The entire midway seemed abandoned save for this ride, which had a small crowd of carnival employees, all teens, crowded around it. John, one of Link’s friends from the previous year, handed Link a beer. Link promptly tossed it to Rhett. “Here.”

Rhett opened it, taking a small sip, and Link laughed in response, shaking his head. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out keys and jamming them into the side of a new can he’d been handed, then tossed his keys to Chase and placed his mouth over the newly punctured opening. Link shifted his hips to allow Chase the chance to put the keys back in Link’s pocket. It seemed like Chase was taking his time, and it wasn’t lost on Rhett. Link, who was opening the beer, winked at Rhett just before sucking the liquid out in second flat, throwing it to the ground and smashing the can with his foot. Rhett felt an intense flash of jealousy at the way Chase had touched him, and he wondered if Link’s wink at him was one of recognition.  _ You can look, but you can’t touch _ , or some sort of sick, twisted challenge to Rhett.

Where Link had learned to shotgun a beer, Rhett wasn’t sure. It was clearly one of those life milestones he hadn’t shared with his best friend, and the flash of jealousy stabbed at Rhett harder. The way Chase patted Link’s back and tossed another can to the growing pile on the ground made it more obvious: this wasn’t anyone’s first rodeo but Rhett and the other new teens who hadn’t worked here last year. A few of the veterans stumbled up the stairs and into the bumper cars, pulling down lap bars over them.

“Rhett, come  _ on!”  _ Link said, tugging at Rhett’s sleeve. Rhett had barely had two sips of his beer, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. Apparently, they were drunk driving tonight, and by that, Link meant drunk bumper car driving. Rhett took one more big gulp of beer and placed his can on the ground, still mostly full. He climbed into a car, waiting. The whir of cars and the sound of the music getting louder, more frantic, was getting everyone pumped up if they weren’t already. Suddenly, the steering wheel in front of Rhett jerked. It was go time.

He whipped the car around but instantly found himself face-to-face with Link, who narrowed his eyes at Rhett. Rhett had no time to react before Link slammed his car into Rhett’s, top speed, sending his car jerking back and his body forward. “Come on, Rhett, you have to actually know how to drive!” Link shouted from his car.

_ Nice try, buddy. Karma’s a bitch.  _ Rhett’s head was in the game now, and he had the advantage of screwing up the beer shotgunning, which meant his reaction time was faster than Link’s. He pushed his car against Link’s, pinning the car Link was in to the wall. Link jerked the steering wheel to each side violently to no avail. “Aw, come on!” Link grunted, rolling his eyes and lifting his middle fingers to Rhett. Rhett slammed the reverse pedal, but before Link could move his car, Rhett slammed forward again, sending Link’s car into the wall once more.

This time, their cars struggled against each other until the two of them were side-by-side. By this point, all Rhett could focus on was Link. Every other car whipped around them, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was staying just like this, not giving Link a chance to win the game he’d started without warning.

“You gonna unpin me and let me play or what?” Link asked.

“Or what,” Rhett replied mockingly, voice going up a level and head waggling from side to side. He jerked his car away, then slammed into Link again.

“Fine,” Link said, leaning out of his car and tugging Rhett to him by the shirt. He planted a quick kiss on Rhett’s lips, and while Rhett was in a dazed shock, Link took advantage of the moment by yanking Rhett’s steering wheel. Rhett’s foot hadn’t left the pedal that kept Link pinned to the wall, but given a new direction, Rhett didn’t have time to think as his car was ripped away. He scrambled to reposition his feet on the pedals.

It didn’t matter, because by the time he pulled himself together and asked himself if that had really just happened, Link had pulled himself back into his own bumper car and sped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhett’s Walking Taco Lunch  
> 1 single-serve bag chips (tortilla or Doritos or the classic Fritos)  
> 2 Tablespoons taco-seasoned protein of choice (beans, beef, chicken, tofu all works well here)  
> 1 tablespoon cheese (if desired, optional)  
> Small handful iceberg lettuce  
> 1 tablespoon onions, diced  
> 1 tablespoon tomatoes, diced  
> 1 tablespoon salsa
> 
> Open chip bag and layer ingredients inside. Use bag as a bowl and walk around your favorite carnival, festival, park, or chill on the couch with this easy meal. Serves 1.


	2. Darts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link tries to make up for messing with Rhett's head, but when plans backfire, Rhett's sulking through the summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer Playlist:  
> Come Alive- Chromeo ft Toro Y Moi  
> Lilly- Toro Y Moi  
> I Love You All The Time- Alex Vans  
> Falling- Haim

Four days. Rhett had been working for four days at the rides, and Link still hadn’t said a word about the kiss. To Rhett, it seemed like maybe Link knew he was interested and decided to mess with him, but the more he thought that, the more he convinced himself that Link didn’t know at all, and it was just a tactic to freak Rhett out enough to unpin the car from the wall. In fairness, Rhett didn’t think Link was being malicious or trying to hurt him by kissing him, but the idea that his best friend would use it against him, would use Rhett’s crush as a way to get what he wanted, pained him.

Link wouldn’t have kissed Rhett for any other reason than he knew it would get to him, he figured. Link had to have known and tried to throw Rhett off. He’d played it coolly since, doing the same things he did every day. He’d head off to the games in the morning while Rhett worked on the rides, then meet up with Rhett in the afternoon for lunch, and they’d carpool back home at night. They had plenty of  _ time  _ to talk, but clearly Link didn’t want to.

Instead, he was his normal self, asking Rhett for a piggyback ride to the concession stands dotting the midway because “my legs are tired, man!” until Rhett would remind him that they’d both been standing up all day and they  _ both  _ had tired legs. That never stopped Link from jumping onto his back, though, nearly toppling both of them. Link would also always walk way too close to Rhett, brushing the back of his hand against Rhett’s by accident, or he’d poke his tongue out of his mouth, seductively searching for the straw of his soda as he wrapped his tongue around it and fluttered his eyes.

Rhett convinced himself it was all in his head. He was sure Link was just getting a drink, walking down the midway close to avoid crowds, jumping on Rhett’s back to goof off and be dumb. Rhett tried to brush it off and pretend it wasn’t happening, tried to look at Link as if everything was still normal between them. After all, it was. That had been one short moment in a short night that ultimately only resulted in Link’s gain. He was able to pin others against the wall and bump into them, having a great time while Rhett drove his car to the side and sulked in confusion for a few minutes. Then, Rhett decided it was a harmless competitive move not worth ruining his night over and did his best to get back in the game.

Now, four days later, Link sat on top of the picnic table, feet planted on the bench beside Rhett. “So I talked to Mike,” he said.

“About what?” Rhett glanced up at his friend, then took another bite of his curly fries.

“‘Bout you coming over to work some games,” Link said. “There’s a basketball one not far from me and I told him you’d be really good at it. You’re always super encouraging with the kids on the rides even when they get sick, and you’re great at basketball. You’d be a natural.”

“Oh. Thanks for putting in a good word,” Rhett muttered, another fry dangling from the side of his mouth. Link tugged the fry that was hanging out of Rhett’s mouth and popped it in his own without warning, eating it as Rhett looked up at him in confusion.

“You aren’t excited? Why are you not excited?” Link asked, nudging Rhett with his foot.

“I’m appreciative, Link,” Rhett answered, nudging back. “I’ll be excited if he actually decides to let me do it.”

“He already did,” Link replied, sliding off the table and onto the bench next to Rhett. “You start after lunch.”

The only thing Rhett wanted that summer, aside from Link (and that would  _ never  _ happen, he was sure), was a nice job on the games instead of the rides. He liked it better on the games. There was no vomit, for one, and this part of the midway was shadier than the rest, outside of the unbearable sunlight. The game itself was nice, too, a basketball themed game. He’d lure players in with his own skill, taking time to dribble and shoot, show how easy it was, because for him, it  _ was  _ easy. They’d try and try, and with enough practice and if they parted ways with enough money, they’d eventually win, too, unless they were as good at basketball as Rhett was. Most of them weren’t, though.

The downside of the basketball game was that it was right across from Link’s booth. Before, Rhett would have eaten that up, relished in the opportunity to ogle his best friend and the way his muscles worked when he was demonstrating how to reach the top in the strong man game or effortlessly tossing rings into goldfish bowls like it was second nature.

Unfortunately, not only were things still awkward for Rhett, but now he had to endure Link’s endless flirting. He’d flirt with girls approaching his game to play, sweet-talking them into upgrading to a bucket of rings for the ring toss instead of just three. “Better odds,” he’d suggest with a wink, leaning far over the counter, licking his own lips as he looked at theirs. Link was a good looking guy and he knew it, the kind of guy who could get away with murder, and he used that to his advantage.

Link didn’t just flirt with the girls, either. He’d flirt with the guys they were with, squeezing their biceps. “I don’t know, man, arms like these and I think you could win her the big one… you taking him home, pretty lady? If not, I just might!” Link used flattery to get his way and it worked all too well. It didn’t just get them roped into playing the game, it distracted them into spending more. It’s why Link was a top seller at the carnival and had his pick of games. Rhett’s stomach did a somersault like he’d been whipped around too fast on the Octopus. He felt sick watching.

Rhett was so distracted by it, by the overt sexual attention Link gave every single guest walking by his booth, that he entirely missed the fact that a young girl in front of him had absolutely no clue how to throw a basketball. What she lacked in aim, she made up for in intensity, hurtling the basketball straight at Rhett’s stomach. Unprepared, he was flat on his ass in seconds, the air knocked out of him. 

Link jumped over the table on his booth, rushing to Rhett’s side and plopping down beside him. “Hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Rhett said through gritted teeth, clutching his stomach as he heaved himself off of the ground. He tried to calm himself down and reassure the girl who had thrown it at him, then plucked a large unicorn from the display. “I think your aim is fine, sweetie. Have a good day.” As she walked away, he struggled to catch his breath.

“Seriously, you’re okay?” Link pressed, touching Rhett’s arm with concern. “No harm, no bruise?”

“I’m fine,” Rhett said, pushing past Link and escaping his grasp.

“Where you goin’?” Link asked.

“To see Mike. Watch my booth.”

Rhett stalked to Mike’s office, more of a tent than an actual building, trying to compose himself enough to have a professional conversation and ask for his spot back on the rides. As much as he hated working the rides, anything had to be better than watching Link try to sleep with every guest over the age of 18 that walked past him. Short shorts and tank tops may have been appealing, but if Link couldn’t keep it in his pants, then Rhett sure as hell wasn’t going to stand right there and subject himself to it. Part of Rhett wanted to quit, go home and forget the stupid job, the stupid flirting, the stupid kiss and everything else. But in the meantime, rides seemed like a reasonable option.

Mike wasn’t exactly as keen on giving Rhett his rides job back, though. After all, he’d already found a replacement for Rhett after Link had convinced him Rhett would be the perfect person to work the basketball game. Rhett’s next two hours was spent emptying trash bins instead, which mostly consisted of half-eaten cotton candy and discarded sno cones. Mike said it would be temporary, a quick place to toss Rhett until a ride opened up, and he was sure a ride  _ would  _ open up. But trash was a certain downgrade from rides, and especially from games. He sighed, dragging the trash bag behind him through the midway as he looked at the rides on either side of him. Even teacups would have been better than that.

“Rhett!” Link called out. “Rhett, what the hell, man?”

“What?”

“It’s dinner time and you never came back to the game,” Link said. “I thought maybe you asked to go back to rides, but I checked all of those, too.”

“Yeah, well, Mike didn’t have room for me on rides. I’m on trash duty,” Rhett confessed. “I can’t eat until I get the last two taken care of.”

“Can I help you?” Link asked sincerely, figuring that if they tackled the last two bins together, they’d have more time to hang out.

“Why, so you can flirt with someone throwing out their chili dog? No thanks,” Rhett griped, turning his back to Link. The last thing he wanted right now was to take lunch with Link anyway.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Link grabbed Rhett’s arm, whipping him around. “Flirt with who about what?”

“God, Link, don’t you see it? You’d flirt with the fucking trash can if you could,” Rhett answered, yanking his arm away from Link’s grasp. He stalked away, not turning back to Link’s shouts.

“Rhett, what the hell? Come back here and talk to me. Seriously? You’re just going to say that and not explain what you mean?” grew quieter and quieter in the distance as Rhett headed toward the dumpster, no longer dragging but stomping, angry and hurt.

He didn’t bother catching up to Link for dinner, either, taking the last two bags of trash to the dumpster and buying a funnel cake alone. He sat at the picnic table in the shadiest spot away from the games that he could find. The last thing he was willing to do was venture over there. He figured if the afternoon was going to be full of trash, he wasn’t also going to let it be full of Link Neal and his stupid, ridiculous flirting.

On the other side of the Midway, Link sulked. He took two bites of his corn dog, then threw it in the trash.

“What gives?” Chase asked, looking up from the balloons he was trying to tie and attach to the dart board. Link stood up and walked over, picking up a dart and hurling it at the board, missing entirely.

“Nothin’,” Link sulked.

“Stop wasting my darts, man,” Chase huffed, picking up the dart Link had thrown. Link opened his wallet instead.

“It’s not wasting them if I’m paying for a round,” Link said. “Give me three.” Chase sighed and handed Link three darts. Link threw them hard one at a time, each of them missing the board entirely.

“You know that six year olds can pop these, right?” Chase goaded, handing Link the darts again. Link pulled another five dollars out of his wallet and handed it to Chase.

“Shut up, man. Just give me a bucket.” Chase did what he asked, passing him a bucket full of darts and watched as Link tossed them, one dart at a time, four darts at a time, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t getting anywhere near the balloons. Down to his last two throws, Link finally popped one.

He threw again, this time narrowly missing Chase, who had been pulling the other dart from the foam backing board.

“Holy crap!” Chase startled. “Maybe wait until I move to throw the dart. Jesus! Anyway, you hit one before you almost killed me, so you can pick between the top or the yoyo.” Both were cheap plastic prizes that weren’t exactly going to fix his problems.

“Give me another bucket. I want to trade up,” Link said.

“After you almost killed me? I think it’s time for you to try your hand at another game, man. I’m not trusting you with more darts.”

“Dang it, Chase, just give me another bucket. I can’t… I can’t fix things if I don’t win that flying squirrel thing there!” Link gritted his teeth in frustration, tears threatening to spill over.

“I don’t know what you think a randler is going to fix, but maybe you should slow down. First off, let’s show you how to throw a dart, okay?” Link sighed as Chase stepped out of the booth and walked up behind him, placing one hand on Link’s waist and the other covering his hand. “See? You’ve got to do it like this, releasing right… here. That’s how you’ll get it. Too hard, and you’re going to end up hitting the ground instead, too soft and you won’t go the distance. You have to snap it at just the right point. Try again.” Chase kept his hand on Link’s waist, watching Link’s follow-through as he tried it, popping a balloon on the first try. What he didn’t see was Rhett walking over to apologize for blowing up, and then walking away as soon as he saw them standing that close.

Stupid Link. Stupid kiss. Stupid flirting.

Rhett sulked around the next two days, frustrated that Mike still hadn’t found a ride to put him on, meaning he was stuck walking from trash can to trash can, gathering every sno cone straw and torn wristband that he saw lying on the ground. He wondered how hard it was for people to pick up their freaking trash themselves, how impossible it would be for them to take the three extra steps they needed to make it to a wastebin. Apparently too hard, considering Rhett had handfuls of trash to deposit in the nearest trash can each time he made the rounds. As the sun set on the carnival, he wished for the day to be over, longing to take a break and enjoy the bright lights of the ferris wheel without having to pace back and forth between trash cans.

He’d skipped carpooling with Link, too embarrassed and frustrated to even be in the same car as his best friend. There was no way he’d be caught dead in the passenger seat, teary-eyed as Link told him how hot every girl he encountered was. Rhett couldn’t do it, so he’d driven himself without offering to drive Link.

The carnival closed, the lights still on after everyone was leaving, which could only mean one thing: the employees had other plans for what to do now that everyone had left. Not that Link had clued him into the plans at all, of course. He hadn’t spoken to Link, so how could he? Rhett tied closed one more bag of trash, figuring he’d throw it away to avoid doing it Monday. As he heaved it over his shoulder, he heard the patter of footsteps behind him.

“Still giving me the silent treatment?” Link asked, reaching for the trash bag Rhett held and swinging it over his own shoulder.

“I haven’t been giving you the silent treatment,” Rhett muttered in response, looking at his feet.

“Rhett, seriously, just stop, okay? I want to talk to you.”

“Why don’t you go talk to  _ Chase,  _ huh? I saw how cozy you two were at the darts the other day,” Rhett snapped, turning his face away from Link lest Link see the hurt written all over him.

“Chase? Seriously? You think I have a thing for Chase? Are you insane?” Link asked. “I wasn’t getting cozy with him. He was showing me how to throw a fucking dart because I almost  _ killed  _ him,” Link insisted, heaving the trash into the dumpster and grabbing Rhett’s arm. “We have to talk about this, Rhett. Are you pissed off at me because I kissed you? I’m sorry, Rhett. I wasn’t trying to… I wasn’t trying to piss you off, okay? It was supposed to be a joke…”

“Yeah, got it. Super funny, Link.” Rhett huffed at that statement, trying to tear away from Link’s grasp.

“I don’t mean… I don’t mean a joke like I didn’t want to do it. I mean a joke like… like if you got all pissed off at me or something over it. I figured it was a good time because then it was like just… just a game we were playing. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. You’re mad at me and not talking to me, and all the guys wanted us to go on the tilt-a-whirl and everything because we’re hijacking the rides again, and it’s not going to be any fun without you so can you just--”

Rhett cut Link off with a kiss, pressing his lips to him and squeezing Link’s biceps in his hands, waiting for Link to push him away, but Link didn’t. Instead, Link’s hands found Rhett’s waist, rucking up the back of his shirt, one hand running up Rhett’s back until he was playing with the hair on the nape of Rhett’s neck. It was Rhett who pulled away first, not Link.

“I don’t flirt with guests to fuck with your head, Rhett,” Link finally said after a long moment. “I flirt with them so they’ll spend more money. It’s why I got my job back this year… encouraging people to spend a lot of money gets you a long way. I’m good at it, but that doesn’t mean I’m doing it maliciously. If I knew it was going to upset you… I… I’m sorry,” Link sighed.

“Okay,” Rhett breathed, still stunned and dazed by what had just happened.

“And the thing with Chase, I was playing the dart game trying to win something. But the thing is, I sucked. I sucked so bad that he ended up feeling sorry for me and just givin’ it to me because I’d already spent like forty freakin’ bucks trying to play and losing,” Link confessed. He threw his backpack to the ground, tugging open the zipper and pulling out a fire-breathing chicken. It hadn’t been the plush he’d wanted to gift Rhett, but it was close enough. Chase said it was the one plush that scared all of the children and he couldn’t seem to get rid of them at all, so Link accepted it, passing it to Rhett.

“What  _ is  _ it?” Rhett asked, turning it over in his hands and giving it a small squeeze.

“Heck if I know,” Link shrugged. “Anyway, I’m sorry. Sorry you had to see me flirt and sorry for kissing you. I kept thinkin’ you were going to talk about it, but it seemed like you didn’t want to, and then I didn’t know how to mention it, so then I decided to go talk to Mike in hopes that if we worked closer together maybe we could talk,” Link said.

“You thought I didn’t want to talk about it? I thought you were avoiding talking about it!” Rhett threw his hand in the air in exasperation.

“God, we’re dumb sometimes,” Link sighed, tugging at Rhett’s shirt and bringing him close, but not close enough for their lips to meet. “Maybe I should try this the right way. Can I kiss you? Not as a joke and not as a game?”

“I already kissed  _ you  _ not as a joke and not as a game, Link,” Rhett sighed, not bothering to move back.

“I’m taking that as a yes,” Link breathed, closing the distance between them and kissing Rhett deeply this time, not with the anger and frustration Rhett started their other kiss with, but with the overwhelming sense of need that they’d been waiting for in a kiss like this. It was then that Rhett saw fireworks, overwhelmed by passion. He thought it was one of those cliche things that when you kissed the right person, you’d see fireworks, but Rhett, he actually saw them, little explosions behind his eyelids, the bangs loud and shaking him to the core where he physically felt them, almost too loud and too powerful.

“What the hell?” Link pulled back and turned to look as firework after firework exploded not far off the ground. “Shit! Rhett, run!”

Rhett took off in the opposite direction of the low fireworks, with Link following behind, struggling to get his backpack back on his shoulders. Rhett gripped his fire-breathing chicken tightly, swearing he’d figure out what it actually was later, if they didn’t become fire-breathers themselves, knocked out by a rogue firework. It wasn’t until Rhett slumped against the hood of his car that they both stopped to take a breath.

“What just happened?” Rhett asked.

“The fireworks,” Link heaved, his chest rising and falling heavily as he leaned forward, hands on his knees, head spinning from the sudden exertion. “Fuck. We’re all so screwed right now.” The annual fireworks show was the highlight of the carnival’s last night, the pinnacle of beauty. People would pay good money to be on the ferris wheel the moment the fireworks began, with special ride tickets selling for charity.

“How are we screwed? We weren’t over there,” Rhett said.

“Oh my god, you’re right. We weren’t over there,” Link said. “We can’t have had anything to do with it if we weren’t anywhere near it!” He laughed with a sense of relief coming over him, pulling Rhett in for one more kiss as the last of the fireworks exploded on the ground.

“Thank goodness for that, at least,” Rhett said, pushing Link back further on the car hood and straddling him now, one foot planted on the ground with one knee against Link’s hip, resting on the car. He cupped Link’s face in his chin, the fire-breathing chicken squeezed between their bodies. “And for this,” he said, pulling Link in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best Curly Fry Seasoning  
> 2 Tablespoons salt  
> 2 teaspoons sugar  
> 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika  
> 1 teaspoon black pepper  
> 1/2 teaspoon turmeric  
> 1/2 teaspoon onion salt  
> 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt  
> Mix all ingredients together.
> 
> Best Fry Sauce  
> 1/2 Cup mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise  
> 2 Tablespoons ketchup  
> 1 teaspoon pickle juice  
> 1 teaspoon fry seasoning recipe  
> Mix all ingredients together. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
> 
> Special thanks to mythical-trash for beta reading this one for me.


	3. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is reeling from the sudden explosion of fireworks, so despite the hazy happiness of his first kiss with Link, Rhett's nervous his job is on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer Playlist
> 
> Feel the Love- Cut Copy  
> Young Blood- The Naked and Famous  
> Silver Lining- Rilo Kiley  
> On the Lips- Frankie Cosmos  
> Venice- The Lighthouse and the Whaler

“I wasn’t there!” Rhett swore up and down. “I don’t know how the fireworks went off. I didn’t even remember there  _ were  _ fireworks. I’d already gone home!”

Mike had them in the office one-by-one the next day, interrogating each of them over what happened.

“And can anyone attest to the fact you weren’t here?” Mike asked sternly.

“I was with Link the whole time,” Rhett shrugged. It was true. He’d been with Link through the entire incident, and even though they’d  _ planned  _ to hijack the fair like they did the previous Saturday night, this was different. They’d never even made it over there, thank god. Rhett wondered what would have happened if they’d have gone, if they’d have been there when everything exploded.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you guys do on Saturday nights,” Mike said, glowering at Rhett and standing like he was trying to match Rhett’s height. That wasn’t going to happen, but he was trying for sure. “Obviously I’m aware of it. So long as nothing gets destroyed, I let it slide, drunken teenage fun. But this time something  _ was  _ destroyed, the one thing that is the sole reason this carnival is allowed to keep operating in this town, so don’t even try to lie to me. Start dropping names on who was there by the end of the day, or I can’t trust you enough to keep you working here.”

There it was. If he didn’t start talking, his job was on the line, and if he did, he risked being wrong because he wasn’t there. He was just being honest, and now it was about to cost him his summer job.

“I’m being honest, sir. I wasn’t there, and neither was Link,” Rhett re-stated. Surely Mike could ask anyone else working there, anyone who would have actually seen what happened, but since Rhett was one of the few new members of the crew, it was his ass on the line, nobody else’s, it seemed.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure that you’re not covering for your best friend,” Mike rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid, McLaughlin. Now, get your ass back to the basketball game.”

Rhett started to open his mouth and remind Mike he’d been moved to trash duty, but given the opportunity to get back on basketball, he wasn’t going to pass it up. But just as he turned toward the opening in the tent to walk away, guilt overcame him. If Mike couldn’t trust him to be honest here, then how could he trust Rhett about the fireworks? It felt like a test.

“Sir?” Rhett turned back. “You moved me to trash duty, remember?”

“Right,” Mike sat up a little straighter, adjusting his glasses. “I’ve got trash covered. Go back to basketball.” Rhett didn’t miss the small smirk that told him Mike had forgotten after all, but the honesty seemed to be appreciated.

* * *

 

“I’m just saying, I don’t think you have to worry about it. Mike’s gonna talk to everybody and if you and I have the same story-- we weren’t even there -- then he can’t fire us for it,” Link grinned, passing a couple of dollars to Josh. “Do you know the story, man?”

“Not a clue,” Josh said, placing the money in his cart. The cart had clearly seen better days, banged up and blackened on its sides. “How’m I supposed to know? I was headed over there and when I saw what was happening, I think everybody scattered.” He dipped a foot-long hot dog into batter, then tossed it into the deep fryer, wiping at a black smudge on his cart with his apron.

“See, Rhett? Nobody really knows. Don’t panic.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say. You could go back to mowing lawns after this. I’ve got nothin’, man,” Rhett sulked.

“We’ll worry about it when it’s time,” Link said, grabbing the corn dogs from Josh’s hands. A bit of grease was still dripping down the stick, and Link could tell they were hot. He passed one to Rhett and gave a small wave to Josh as they walked away. Rhett took a bite, choking from the heat of the corn dog, surprised by how hot it was. “God, Rhett, slow it down. You don’t have to shove it all in!” Link laughed.

“I di-n’t. Is ‘ot!” Rhett mumbled, struggling to chew the bite he’d taken.

“You literally watched him pull it out of the fryer!” Link chuckled again. “I just figured you couldn’t handle such a big hot dog.” It was a dare. Link knew exactly what he was doing by saying it, exactly what he was challenging Rhett to.

“You think I can’t take a long wiener, Link?” Rhett asked, opening his mouth wide and pushing the hot dog until it tickled his uvula, causing him to choke and gag, retching a little bit as he pulled it back out before composing himself.

“Looks like I was right,” Link said, then tilted his head back. “Watch.” Link opened his mouth, letting his jaw pop, then slid the corn dog into his mouth. It was impossibly deep and Rhett could see his throat bulge a little as Link stuffed it down so most of the dog was hidden in his mouth. He effortlessly slid it back out, dripping with saliva, and grinned, gloating. “See? I can take a long dog any day of the week, man.”

“Gross,” Rhett muttered, but he couldn’t ignore the tightness in his jeans and the way he wanted Link’s mouth on him like that. “How much longer we got before we have to go back?”

“We’ve got time,” Link smirked, discarding his uneaten corn dog into the trash and tugging at Rhett’s belt loop to pull him into one of the tents that wasn’t really used for anything but storage. Rhett looked for a place to put his corn dog down, but Link looked up at him as he sank to his knees. “You keep eating. I’ve got other things to get my mouth on.” Link unfastened Rhett’s shorts, pulling them down and revealing Rhett’s girth.

Length, he’d practiced with corn dogs and popsicles, but thickness like this? It was new to him. He didn’t hesitate, though, wrapping his lips around Rhett’s cock and pulling him deep, letting him hit the back of his throat. Link grabbed Rhett’s ass with both hands, pressing his nose to Rhett’s skin, sliding out an inch or two, and slamming Rhett into his throat again. He pulled back, letting Rhett’s cock drop from his mouth with a wet pop. “Yeah, okay, that’s not as hard as I expected it to be,” he said.

“I’m hard!” Rhett insisted, looking down at himself and wondering what he was doing wrong.

“No, I mean… fuck… not as difficult as I thought. You’re really thick, man!” He used his hand and his mouth together, working them in sync to get Rhett into a puddling mess of sensations.

“Oh, fuck,” Rhett groaned. They’d only just kissed yesterday and now they were on to sloppy blowjobs in storage tents. He wasn’t complaining. Link was hot, everything he’d ever wanted, and with school around the corner, they didn’t have time to wait. If he wanted Link, he had to take him… now. There wasn’t a tomorrow. There was just this moment, Link’s mouth on him, and the feeling of his fingers tangled in Link’s hair. He couldn’t let him think too much about how little time they had left, how little of  _ this  _ they had left, or he’d tear up. Instead, he focused on the feeling of Link pulling him deeper, using his tongue to stroke Rhett, and the messy sounds they were making. “God, yeah, like that, fuck…” Rhett groaned. He’d forgotten his corn dog now, letting it dangle in the hand that hung by his side as the other focused on pulling Link deeper. “Don’t stop, oh fuck,” he breathed.

Rhett was trying to be relatively quiet. Thin tent walls didn’t keep a lot of sound out. But despite the fact that tent walls didn’t mask sound very easily, neither of them really heard Chase approach until he was right there. He wasn’t exactly phased by the scene in front of him, even as Link pulled off and stood up, trying to hide what they were doing.

“Hey, Rhett, toss me the bag of prizes behind you?” Rhett turned, still exposed, using a hand to cover himself as best as he could, and picked up the bag with his empty hand, passing it to Chase in shock and embarrassment. “Thanks, man!” He said, smiling, then exited the tent like he’d seen nothing amiss at all. Of course he had, but he certainly didn’t act like it at all. Rhett wondered if it was no surprise because he knew they’d hook up, or if it was no surprise because maybe this was something Link did last year, too, or if it  _ was  _ a surprise and Chase was just good at hiding it.

“Oh my god,” Rhett fretted, but Link didn’t wait to get back on his knees.

“Chase is cool, man. I caught him hooking up in here twice this season already,” Link muttered.

“What, with who?!” Rhett asked, but Link was already taking Rhett in his mouth again. “I didn’t even know he was seeing anybody here.”

“You’d be surprised,” Link pulled off of Rhett, stroking him with his hand and letting the tip rest on his tongue. “Chase is kind of a player. Brings all kinds of people in here when no one’s looking.”

“He ever, uh… did you…?” Rhett couldn’t help but ask.

“No!” Link insisted. “You’re the only one, Rhett.” The reassurance was enough for Rhett, who tangled his fingers back in Link’s hair. “Come on, our break’s almost over, let me get you off, man…” They didn’t have time to talk about this. They could do that later. Instead, right now, Link put his sole focus on Rhett, and with a skilled tongue, Rhett was starting to get weak. He leaned against the shelf behind him, whining and whimpering until he had Link swallowing every last drop. Link stood and wiped his face on his arm, then leaned in to kiss Rhett. “See you out there,” he said, then left the tent and left Rhett to adjust himself back to a presentable state. Rhett did, then looked at the corn dog still in his hand. With no one watching, he tried to slide it into his mouth again, but the second it hit the back of his throat, he gagged. Oh well, he’d practice.

* * *

As the park closed Saturday night, Rhett expected there to be the mutterings of a park hijacking, a chance for them to hang out and chill. Instead, five minutes before closing, murmurings that everyone had to be outside Mike’s office as soon as the guests were gone went around fast. Rhett closed his game. There was no one in line to play it anyway.

Nerves shook him as he walked toward Mike’s tent. This was it. This was the time where Mike was going to fire him in front of everyone for being the new guy. He was absolutely sure of it, that no one would back up his story but Link and that Mike wouldn’t believe him.

When everyone was there, Mike’s voice boomed. “Which one of you is going to fess up to the fireworks situation?” he asked. “Every single one of you has said you had nothing to do with it, and I know that’s not true. So which one of you did it?”

No one stepped forward. No one moved or murmured or pointed a finger. Rhett imagined they had some kind of pact-- that if no one would drop dime or own up, he couldn’t fire any of them.

“One of you needs to own up to it and take responsibility or we’re closing tomorrow. I’m done with the bullshit and done with wasting my days and my time and money on this fucking fair for you dropouts to mess it all up.”

Rhett was quaking. If someone didn’t say something,  _ everyone  _ was about to lose their jobs. Would Mike do that? Would he actually let every single person lose their job and close the advertised carnival two weeks before it was set to end? Surely not.

“I did it,” Rhett stepped forward. He wasn’t about to take the chance that everyone would lose their job and the town would lose the fair. “It’s my fault and my mistake. I’m sorry.” Link grasped Rhett’s hand in confusion, squeezing it hard. “I, uh… I accidentally dropped a cigarette outside of the tent. I didn’t realize it was the fireworks tent. It must have rolled and set them off.”

“You dropped your cigarette?” Mike asked. “You know what, a cigarette sounds really good right now. Can I bum a smoke?” Mike got really close to him, sniffing at him, and Rhett shook.

“I, uh… I… the fireworks… I quit smoking?” Rhett stammered.

“That’s what I thought,” Mike said, stepping back. “All of you were about to let the new guy take the fall for your fuck-up. He wasn’t even here. Every single one of you told me he wasn’t here and you were  _ still  _ going to let him take the fall for it. So, I need an answer before I count to five or we’re closing. One.”

No one moved, no one flinched, no one acted like they’d even heard him.

“Two.”

Link squeezed Rhett’s hand again, smoothing his thumb over the skin, reassuring him it was going to be okay.

“Three.”

Rhett squeezed Link’s hand back, less certain things were going to be alright. After all, Mike was on three and no one had moved.

“Four.”

It was so silent they could hear crickets chirping around them, literally.

“Fi--”

“I did it.” Rhett whipped his head around to see Josh, hanging his head low and shuffling his feet. “I was wheeling my corn dog cart over to the rides we were going to be fuckin’-- I mean messin’-- around on that night and my wheel came loose. I leaned my cart against the tent to go get a screwdriver to fix it, and I must have set the heating element next to one of the fireworks or something because I got a few rides away and suddenly it exploded. I don’t know how the cart managed to make it with all of those explosions right there, but it seems like the metal must have helped. That’s why the umbrella wasn’t on my cart today, though. It caught fire.”

“A corn dog cart?” Mike asked. “A corn dog cart almost burnt down the entire carnival and ruined tens of thousands of dollars worth of fireworks?”

“Yes, sir,” Josh answered.

“Alright, then. Josh, stick around. Everyone else, get your asses home. I’ll see you Monday.”

For the first Saturday night in the history of the carnival, the lights would be dark and things would be silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just-Like-Josh's Fair-Style Corndogs
> 
> 2 2/3 C yellow corn meal  
> 1 1/3 C self-rising flour, plus extra for the dogs  
> 1/4 C sugar  
> 2 tsp baking powder  
> Salt and pepper to taste  
> 4 eggs, beaten  
> 1 3/4 C milk  
> Peanut oil for frying (can sub vegetable oil)  
> 12 foot-long hot dogs
> 
> Heat oil to 360 degrees. Whisk together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Add in eggs and milk and stir until combined. Pour into a deep cup.
> 
> Pat hot dogs dry. Insert skewer into the end of the hot dog, then roll in flour before dipping in batter until coated. Tap off extra batter.
> 
> Fry for 5-7 minutes until golden. Drizzle with mustard to serve.


	4. All Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer Playlist
> 
> IDGAF- Dua Lipa  
> A Wall- Downtown Boys  
> Like Humans Do- David Byrne  
> Mykonos- Fleet Foxes  
> A Moment Apart- ODESZA

Rhett dangled his feet down from the short ledge he sat on, picking at his cotton candy with his fingers and waiting for Link. He watched as Josh pushed his corn dog cart to the side of the space he usually parked it in, now restocked but still dinged up and slightly blackened, but sporting a brand new bright red umbrella, courtesy of Rhett’s father. Even though it was Rhett’s dad who helped Josh keep the job he needed so much, Rhett was torn between elation and annoyance that he did, in fact, stay there.

Mike had made massive threats like he would certainly fire Rhett if he’d been involved, and yet here Josh was, as if nothing had happened. Sure, that was completely thanks to Rhett pleading with his father to intervene somehow, since Josh was a genuinely good guy who actually needed to work at the carnival for the summer. And yes, Rhett was happy he got to keep his job, too, but he couldn’t help but grumble when Link approached regardless.

“Mike said he was gonna fire me over it!” Rhett whined.

“Mike’s all talk, man,” Link sighed, settling in next to Rhett with his sno cone and taking Rhett’s hand. “He wasn’t about to fire anybody. He needs all of us and you know it.”

“No, I don’t. He had plenty of people working for him when he put me on trash duty for the day,” Rhett responded. “He definitely had plenty of time to fire me.”

“If he’d have fired you, who would he have had take out the trash?” Link joked, bumping his shoulder against Rhett’s playfully. “Come on, he knew you were lying about the fireworks anyway, and you were nice enough to help Josh out, so stop stressing and have a good afternoon, man.”

“I  _ am  _ having a good afternoon,” Rhett insisted.

“You are not,” Link said. “I can tell by the look on your face. What the heck is with you lately, man?”

“Nothin’,” Rhett grumbled, polishing off his cotton candy and turning Link’s face to his, kissing him with the sugary sweet candy still stuck to his lips. “Everything’s okay,” he pulled back a little bit and then leaned back in to Link again, kissing him deeper. All he wanted was to stay there, just like that, lips on Link’s and pulling him closer. Link’s hand grazed down his body and they were dangerously close to  _ too much  _ PDA right there, both begging for more until Link tipped his sno cone without noticing, spilling the sticky, icy cold liquid down Rhett’s calf. “Fuck!” Rhett yelped, yanking back and looking at the murky liquid dripping down his leg. “That’s cold.”

Link laughed, hard, kissing Rhett gently once more. “Just breathe, babe. It’s summer.”

It didn’t feel like summer, though, when the heavy rain hit that afternoon and didn’t stop for three days. It didn’t matter that the carnival was essentially empty, most people driven inside by the heavy rains that dripped down off of what little bit of tent covered Rhett’s basketball booth. The carnival remained opened, the rides still running and lights still flashing.

Mike was more of a hard-ass on those days in terms of customer care, but without customers to care for, it wasn’t anything for Link to hang out at Rhett’s booth instead. At first he was leaning over the table, chatting up Rhett. Then he was slamming down dollar after dollar in poor attempts to shoot a basket. The ball was slippery, as was the area he was trying to shoot from, rain-slicked like his hair and face.

If Rhett didn’t know any better, he’d think Link was bad at this on purpose, missing the shot every time he tried. He couldn’t watch Link keep making a fool of himself, paying for balls he couldn’t sink, so Rhett wrapped his arms around Link, doing his best to show him just how to line up a shot. He guided him through the whole thing, from foot placement to the eventual release of the ball, and this time, Link made it effortlessly. Rhett lifted him off of the ground, twirling him and as he placed him back down, Link tugged him into a kiss. No one was around, not really, and it was the perfect way to celebrate the success of completely nailing it.

“You’re really good at getting things in holes,” Link quipped, and Rhett rolled his eyes with a groan.

“That is the worst way to ask a guy to fuck you, Link,” he responded. “Besides, I don’t think it’s my balls you want me to sink in  _ your  _ basket.” They were speaking quietly, no one out of a breath’s distance could actually hear what they said, but the way they held each other closely, sneaking quick kisses, Link batting his lashes, was enough that Chase had to sigh audibly from his darts.

“Oh my  _ god,  _ get a tent, you two.” 

“We had one and you decided to interrupt,” Link shot back, a small smile escaping under his glare. The beauty of them working together was that they could give each other as much hell as they wanted and no one seemed to get their feelings hurt, all in on the jokes and the long hours they put in.

But Link lifted up on his toes again, pulling Rhett into a deeper kiss this time. No one had seen an actual customer in over an hour and he was restless, bored, and just about ready to close his tent and ask Mike if they could have longer breaks for the day since the entire place was practically empty. But as Rhett’s tongue met Link’s, as his hands found their way around Link’s waist, it was the sound of a mumbled slur and a curse, a nudge to “get a room,” and a gripe about how kids could see, that Link went  _ off. _

He came unglued, untangling himself from Rhett’s embrace and flying at the customer, shoving him back and grabbing his shirt. “What the fuck did you say?” Rhett tried to pull Link off, tried to get him to chill out, but the customer had him on the wet ground before he could say anything, tugging at Link’s shirt with one hand while hauling off and punching Link in the eye with the other hand.

It was Chase, tiny Chase, that weaseled his way in the middle, scrambling to pull Link out from under the man’s grip as Rhett tried his hardest to pull the guy off of Link, grabbing his arms as the man swung wildly, landing a few more punches. “You piece of trash, sitting here doing this when impressionable kids are around, where’s your manager? Where’s your fucking manager?” He strung together slurs and curses unintelligibly as Rhett tried his hardest to hold the man away from Link as the man told him to keep his “filthy hands off of him” and muttered more curses.

Chase ran as fast as he could toward Mike’s tent, shoes slapping against wet pavement as he panted and tried to push his way in. “We’ve got an issue at the games. Hurry!” he yelled, running back knowing that neither Rhett nor Link was going to let this go easily. The man scrambled out of Rhett’s grasp, hauling back until Link caught his arm and punched him in the stomach, but all that did was land Link on the ground again, the man on top of him punching him again.

“You think you’re so straight?” Link sputtered, split lip spattering blood across the man’s hand. “You’re the one on top of a  _ fucking queer _ ,” he hissed, squeezing his hands between them and pushing on the guy’s chest as hard as he could, shoving him off just as Mike ran up.

“What on  _ earth  _ is going on?” he asked, then looked at Link. “Link, tent, now. Rhett, you, too. Sir, what seems to be the issue here?”

“The issue,” Rhett said, “is that he thinks Link and I are unnatural and need to die off, in his words.”

“Rhett, I said go to my office,” Mike snapped, turning back to the man. “Is there a problem here?”

Rhett slunk to Mike’s office, muttering under his breath. “So he can get on top of you like, that, beat the shit out of you, and Mike’s doing everything he can to make it right with  _ him _ . Great. We’re probably going to get fucking fired over this and he’s the one who can’t be a decent human being and shut his mouth about people being people.”

“Hey,” Link said, taking Rhett’s hand. “We were kissing when we were supposed to be working, so if Mike fires us, fine, that’s what he has to do. But don’t stress until we find out what’s going on. He probably just wants us to come in here until he gets the guy calmed down and out of here.”

“This was supposed to be the perfect summer!” Rhett whined as he pulled open the tent to Mike’s office and slumped in a chair. “And everything is all wrong and it’s been all wrong all summer. Can’t we get a break? I’ve screwed up this job and the fireworks got all fucked up and now you’re hurt and we’re probably going to lose our jobs and I thought you were into  _ Chase  _ and nothing about this summer has been any good at all and--”

“Seriously, Rhett?” Link huffed. “You think nothing about this summer is any good at all? Really? You can’t think of one good thing that happened to you this summer?”

“I can think of good things that happened, Link. You happened. That’s good. But this summer was supposed to be  _ perfect.  _ Don’t you get that? It’s our last summer together. This is the last chance we have to actually get it right, and now it’s all shot to hell and we won’t even have that because we’re going to get fired!” Rhett whined.

“Bo, come on,” Link said, reaching over and smoothing Rhett’s hand with his thumb, “if we get fired, then we ride out the rest of the summer fishing and making out at the river. And if we keep our jobs, then we spend it here riding the tilt-a-whirl on Saturday nights and letting me kiss your neck after work every other night. It’s still perfect. Stop freakin’ out.”

“It’s not perfect. I wasted half of the summer not even realizing you like me and now there’s only three weeks until I go to NC State and… and…” Link stopped him from talking by kissing him, running a hand up his thigh.

“Shut up,” Link said, pulling back just a tiny bit, far enough to speak. “Just shut up.”

Rhett wanted to say something, to ensure Link knew that he still thought  _ they  _ were good even if the summer sucked and they were running out of time, but he didn’t get the chance because Mike was walking in and throwing an ice pack at Link’s stomach. “You two want to tell me why the hell you’re beating up a guest?”

“With all do respect, sir, he was using some pretty intense slurs and he went at Link,” Rhett answered.

“And he used the slurs because you two were making out while you were supposed to be working?” Mike clarified. Link looked at his lap and pressed the ice pack to his eye. “I asked a question.”

“Yes, sir,” Link mumbled. “There weren’t even any guests around for like an hour!” he insisted.

“But you were supposed to be working, and a professional attitude is important at all times. I don’t care if you two want to jump each other’s bones on break and after work and any other time, but when you’re working, you’re working, not fuckin’ around, got it?” Mike asked. “Slow days aren’t an excuse to be fooling around on the concourse when you’re not on break.”

“Yes, sir,” Rhett said. “I’m sorry.” He genuinely was, if only because Link had gotten the brunt of the attack.

“That guest isn’t welcome back here. If you see him, you let me know. You do  _ not  _ engage with him. You walk away even if it means closing your game. Get someone else to take over for you until you get me or security to escort him out of here. Got it? And from now on, you don’t punch customers, Link. You know better,” he said. “It’s slow and Chase doesn’t have enough guests for his own game. He’s going to take over for you two for the afternoon. Link, keep ice on that. The last thing I need is my guests wondering why my employees have black eyes and bruises all over the place. Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He didn’t really give either of them the opportunity to explain anything else that had happened. All the did was tell them to heal up and come back the next day. For Link, he couldn’t have asked for anything better. This way, he got an afternoon alone with Rhett when no one expected him to do anything because he was at work. It only took him getting out of earshot of Mike’s tent to grab Rhett’s hand. “My mom’s at work until tomorrow morning. Sleep over so we can carpool tomorrow.”

“You have ideas on how we can use the whole ‘having the house to ourselves’ thing to our advantage?” Rhett asked.

“Yeah. I mean, if we’re going to be accused of being what that guy called us, I guess we better live up to the slurs,” Link said with a wink. He wasn’t about to let one homophobic dumbass ruin his day. Instead, he was going to get it on with Rhett before his mom got home from work. He was damn sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homemade Sno Cone Syrup
> 
> 1 cup sugar  
> 1 cup water  
> 1 packet Kool Aid drink mix or Crystal Light drink mix
> 
> Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water to a boil over medium high heat for 3 minutes.
> 
> Remove from heat and stir in Kool Aid until it has dissolved completely.
> 
> Cool until it has cooled to the touch and pour into squeezable containers.
> 
> Serve over ice and store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Get creative with flavors, mix and match, or make fun rainbow stripes using multiple flavors of syrup!


	5. Don't Look Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer is ending and the pair don't have much more time to get done everything they'd wanted to do.

As much as Link had been certain that he’d be able to get Rhett stripped and in his bed, he hadn’t exactly made a good note of his mom’s days off. He was thoroughly disappointed to see her car in the driveway when he got home. “Fuck, we aren’t alone,” he grumbled.

“I think you’ll find a way to make it up to me,” Rhett teased, ghosting his fingers over Link’s arm with a grin. It was hard for them to keep their hands off of each other long enough to get to Link’s room, listening as Link’s mom pressed them with questions about the fireworks and the games they worked.

“I feel like I never get to talk to you boys,” she’d said, patting the chair and encouraging them to sit down and talk to her. “Between my work and your work, it’s like we’re never home at the same time,” she complained, and Link found himself thinking  _ that’s the point _ . He loved his mother, loved spending time with her, but he and Rhett were on limited time. They only had a week left before they’d be leaving for school and he still hadn’t even had the chance to fuck Rhett. They’d been surviving on breaktime handjobs and steamy post-work makeouts in the car. All he needed was an hour with Rhett to himself, an hour to prove that this bond was unforgettable to him.

But his mother was needing some love, too, a knowledge that even though it felt like he already had one foot out the door, he was still her little boy. As an only child, he felt the need to reassure her that he still loved her, at least more than Rhett did with his family. So he sat on the couch, with Rhett beside him, and they recounted what had happened that summer: the fireworks incident and how it had all been one big accident, the fundraiser they’d put on to buy as many new fireworks as they could to still have the charity event, even though it would be a much smaller scale than usual, and the way they’d almost lost their jobs. Link left out the parts about homophobia and the way they had been hooking up every chance they’d gotten, for obvious reasons.

“Anyway, mom, we’re super tired. I think we’re just going to go crash because we have a big day tomorrow,” Link said. They didn’t, but he wasn’t telling her that. He was just itching to get to his room, to get time alone with Rhett, to get anything he could with him.

“You’re going to bed now?” She looked at her watch. “At 4:30 in the afternoon?”

“I meant, uh… we’re going to go  _ nap  _ for a little bit. I’m sure we’ll be out later to help set the table for dinner. I’m just super, uh…” Link affected a large yawn, “super tired.”

Her eyes darted between Link’s bruised face and the way Rhett tensed, but all she did was smile and nod. “Have a good nap.”

Link barely got the door closed behind them before he was tugging Rhett to him, pulling his shirt over his head and kissing his collarbones. It was a need, a longing, a point of frustration as he unfastened Rhett’s pants and got them to the floor. “Your mom will hear us, won’t she?” Rhett fretted, but Link just kissed him to silence him.

“Nah, it’s okay,” Link swore, walking Rhett toward the bed and pushing him onto it. “Come on,” he pleaded, and Rhett reciprocated, doing his best to strip Link down. Rhett tugged covers over them, but it wouldn’t have hidden what they were doing, not in the scramble of kisses and the way Link’s hand was already wrapped around Rhett and stroking hard. The blanket covered Link’s head as he worked his way down, running his tongue up and down the length of Rhett’s cock, plunging him deep and choking. Rhett had no idea how Sue, a nurse, didn’t hear what basically sounded like her son in desperate need of the Heimlich, but thankfully she didn’t, or if she did, she ignored it. Rhett’s hands tangled in Link’s hair and Link did everything he could to push Rhett further, but as he kissed back up Rhett’s body, reaching across him for a condom, they could both hear Sue call out from across the house. “Boys! Dinner is in 10 minutes!”

There was absolutely no way they had time to fuck before dinner, and as much as Link ached for it, they’d have to settle for quick, dirty handjobs if they had any chance of getting each other off before they had to leave the room. “Fuck,” Rhett murmured, grasping Link and stroking him quicker as Link maneuvered his way back down to Rhett’s cock. Rhett tried to strangle the moans he was dying to make, stuffing the blankets in his mouth and tugging at Link’s hair to move them together, deeper, faster. He was chasing a release and by the groans he could feel vibrating from Link’s mouth, he was certain Link was, too. Rhett could hear the muffled “mmmfffhh,” and feel the way Link squirmed against him until his mouth went still for a moment, come splattering on Rhett’s arm and chest from the way they were configured in the bed, side-by-side at opposite ends.

It was enough to send Rhett over, into Link’s swollen mouth, making him gag and sputter as he rolled aside and tried to catch his breath.

“Boys!” Sue said, more insistently this time, now knocking at the door. “Do I need to come in and wake you up or are you two going to come out of there yourselves?” She asked.  _ Please don’t turn the doorknob,  _ Link thought, knowing that it was locked and she’d wonder why.

“We’re up!” Link’s voice cracked as he hollered back. “Be right out.” He heard her footsteps fading down the hallway as he scrambled to tug his pants back on, watching every movement Rhett made as he wiped Link’s come from his arm using one of his socks and then pulled his shirt back on. Their hair was messy, and Link attempted to fix Rhett’s slightly before he reminded him they’d been sleeping and that messy hair was alright anyway. Link smiled and pulled Rhett into a kiss. “I’m going to miss this.”

“It’s not over yet,” Rhett reminded him.

And it wasn’t over yet, even if they didn’t get time to make good on their desires to spend the last week of summer inside of each other. Link’s mom needed help around the house until they were thoroughly exhausted, leaving Link to wonder if she didn’t know exactly what they’d been up to that afternoon. And when the carnival started up, they were working their butts off trying to raise enough money to replace the fireworks, so all of the games were working double-time. Plus, it was a nice week and everyone wanted to stop by before the school year began and summer faded into fall.

It didn’t mean they weren’t sneaking away when they could. It just meant Link wasn’t exactly getting as… fulfilled as he’d been hoping for. “You ever end up tapping that this summer?” Chase asked, trying to toss a ping pong ball into one of the fish bowls on his break.

“Been tryin’,” Link said, smiling across the midway at Rhett and giving him a small wink. It was obvious from a distance. Link was undressing him with his eyes. “We keep getting interrupted.” He let out a small sigh and fished the ping pong ball out of the bowl, handing it back to Chase.

“I was going to say, there’s no way it’s from lack of trying. You two can’t stop flirting with each other. It’s nauseating,” Chase smirked. “Seriously, I can get you some free time Friday. Just the two of you. But, uh, it’s risky.”

“Risky as we could get caught?” Link asked, retrieving the ball again. Chase was too good at this.

“Risky as in I hope you two don’t mind heights. I’ll tell ya later, man. My break’s over.”

Link pondered on it for days, counting down until Friday without telling Rhett what he had in mind. Now that he had an end date, a promise that it was going to be something memorable, he was starting to dodge Rhett’s best efforts to fuck. It wasn’t like he wasn’t meeting Rhett’s needs in other ways, but he was holding onto the main prize, preparing himself personally and keeping things quiet from Rhett. He’d be ready for whatever happened Friday night, he was certain. And when everything closed down, the fair back to being the crew members alone after the park closed, with Mike’s blessing, Link was anxious. He could feel the nerves tingling in his body, the itch of what was going to happen eating at him.

He’d done other stuff before, both before Rhett and with Rhett, but this would be the first time he’d ever go all the way with someone. And as much as he was ready, he was nervous. Chase hadn’t been reassuring that his plan was foolproof, just that it would be memorable regardless. So when Chase led them to the ferris wheel with a promise to give them a good ride, and offered a wink at Link, it hit Link what he meant by risky. Risky was an understatement. Link feared if even one thing went wrong, his first time would also be his last. Images flashed through his mind of falling off and onto the ground below, or getting caught, but they were decently sized compartments, big enough to seat 4, 2 people facing another 2 people. And they were going up alone, so surely, Link thought, he could make this work.

Chase let them into the car, Rhett first, then Link, giving him just enough time to whisper to Link. “Just wave or something when you want down.”

Link wasted no time moving to straddle Rhett on the ascent, kissing him as their compartment rocked slightly, adjusting to the shift in weight. “Oh my god,” Rhett groaned, feeling Link grind down on him like he wanted more. Rhett was thrilled by the intense way Link seemed to leap right into a makeout, loving the way he so passionately kissed him. Link reached his hand between them, grasping at Rhett and feeling him harden under the touch.

“I want you,” Link groaned into Rhett’s ear, lifting his shirt to kiss and suck at his nipples and trail bites on his collarbone.

“Yeah? You going to take me somewhere when we get down from here?” Rhett asked. “You’re getting me all worked up, Link….”

“No,” Link said, unfastening Rhett’s pants and tugging them down slightly. “I want you here. Right now.”

“Now?” Rhett asked, shock written all over his face.

Link kissed him hotly, roughly, then practically pleaded. “Now. Please.”

They were running out of summer. The next night, the fair would close. This was their last chance, their last night at the fair without anyone to stop them. Link wasn’t going to miss this chance, and Rhett knew how desperately short on time they were. He let Link grind against him more, getting them both worked up, and he tugged down Link’s joggers, stroking him. He shifted Link into the seat beside him and bent his head low, wrapping his lips around Link and doing the best he could. He’d been practicing on corndogs all summer, but still hadn’t gotten the hang of deep throating, not on someone as long as Link. He choked, trying to take as much as he could until Link was pulling him off. “Come on, please,” Link begged. The foreplay was great but they’d been exchanging blowjobs and handjobs half of the summer. Right now, he just wanted to feel Rhett inside of him. He moved in his seat, trying to lean forward and pull the condom and small packet of lube from his wallet, which in Rhett’s haste to remove his clothing, was somewhere around his ankles.

As Link stroked Rhett, getting him even harder before rolling the condom onto him, Rhett stopped him. “Wait, Link.” Link froze. “I haven’t done this before… let alone on a ferris wheel. What if I’m terrible?”

“I haven’t done it before, either,” Link reassured him. “And I don’t think very many people lose their virginity this high up in the air, do they? It’s like the mile high club, but better because we can feel the breeze.”

“Okay,” Rhett agreed, putting his hand over Link’s and guiding the condom the rest of the way onto himself. “You’re right.”

“If we feel like it’s unsafe, we’ll stop,” Link promised.

“I wasn’t worried about safety!” Rhett said. “I was worried about being horrible at this.”

“You haven’t been bad at anything yet,” Link said. “Even if you  _ can’t  _ deep throat for shit.” He giggled and Rhett kissed him, biting his lip in retaliation for the jab.

“Your fault for being so damn long. If you were nice and thick like me…” Rhett muttered. Link returned the bite, straddling Rhett as his joggers untangled themselves to loop around one ankle.

“Shut up and fuck me,” Link requested, and he squeezed the packet of lube onto Rhett’s tip. He reached his hand between them, stroking the lube all over Rhett and doing his best to slide the excess into himself. He was beyond ready for this, leaning into Rhett and reaching back, trying to guide Rhett into him. He figured most guys went slowly their first time, but most guys hadn’t been preparing for this and anticipating it like he had. He’d been ready for it, and they didn’t have the luxury of time. He wondered if they took too long, if Chase would just send them back down right away, but for now, they were at the top and showed no signs of moving outside of the gentle rock of their compartment. “Oh, fuck,” Link yelped, feeling Rhett stretch him. Preparation had nothing on Rhett’s cock, and Link hadn’t expected the twinge of pain that accompanied the pleasure as he sank down all the way. “Goddammit, you are huge,” Link groaned, muttering into Rhett’s neck as he lifted himself up and sank down again.

The more Link rocked himself against Rhett’s cock, shifting to grind it against the most sensitive parts of himself, the more Rhett moaned at the feeling of being inside of Link. But it wasn’t just the sounds of themselves echoing around them. It was the feeling of the entire compartment rocking them, now almost violently as Rhett pushed into Link and Link pushed right back, seeking more, seeking everything. It shook back and forth, and Link reached a hand up, grasping the metal bar above him to steady himself. “Oh my god,” he cried out, “fuck, right there.” Rhett grasped his hips, holding him in place and moving himself up into Link again and again, harder and faster until he was coming unglued, sweat dripping from his forehead as he groaned.

“Oh, god, Link, I’m so fucking close,” he said, slowing his pace down enough to try to get Link off first. He let Link control the pace for a while, letting one hand grip Link’s ass to hold him close and using the other to jack Link off, feeling Link force himself deeper onto Rhett. It seemed the better Rhett did at giving Link’s cock attention, the harder Link worked him, and Rhett was losing his mind over the sensations.

Link arched his back, pushing Rhett into him deeply, and for a moment he stayed there as Rhett drew him closer and closer. “Fuck, I’m gonna… god, yeah, like that, oh fuck,” Link whined. He was too lost in the moment to wonder who might hear him, but he certainly wasn’t even trying to be quiet. With any luck, the sounds he made would be drowned out by the blasting of Aerosmith below, but none of it mattered. He was losing his virginity, at the top of a ferris wheel, to his lifelong best friend, and as he came hard, his body shaking from the intensity, he realized nothing could have been better than that. The feeling of Link losing control, spilling onto his chest, was enough for Rhett. The groan he made was guttural, and he pulled Link close to moan into his skin in ways that ricocheted through Link’s body to the core of his being.

“Oh my gosh,” Rhett panted, taking deep breaths as Link stilled against him, then eventually climbed out of his lap. The two breathed heavily, with Link leaning in to kiss Rhett.

“That was… it was…” Link couldn’t think of the words to use, because the entire experience had been overwhelming and indescribable. He wondered how a few short weeks ago, he’d been nervous to show Rhett how he felt, and now, he was overwhelmed by the anxiety that they’d soon have to part ways, mixed with the euphoria of everything that happened between them.

“That was freaking insane,” Rhett finished for him. And it had been. They’d defied gravity, getting each other off 300 feet off of the ground, and Rhett was in a state of bliss. Link was giving them a moment to catch their breath before waving to Chase, but he didn’t get that chance. As soon as Chase saw the wheel stop rocking, he maneuvered the wheel back down, and the pair scrambled to tug clothing on, hoping to be fully dressed by the time they reached the ground.

But neither of them had been as quiet as they’d figured, as discreet or drowned out by the atmosphere as they’d hoped. The second they stepped off of the ferris wheel wearing each other’s shirts out of the mad scramble to get clothed on the descent, cheers and offers of high fives erupted from every guy beneath the ferris wheel. Chase had promised them a space to have sex they’d never forget, but Link suddenly realized Chase had never promised discretion.

It didn’t matter, though. The grins on their faces would have been impossible for anyone to miss. It was their last night, one last hurrah to ride the rides and spend that time with the crew they had grown to love as close friends, and as much as Rhett was enjoying taking one last spin on the teacups with Link, one last ride on the octopus, he was itching to get back to Link’s house, knowing this time it  _ would  _ be empty, and that this time, they’d get a shot at seeing if sex brought the same high when they were on the ground.

The next day was bittersweet. With only a few more prizes to give out, Rhett wasn’t looking forward to closing his booth for the last time. It meant the few days he and Link had left were over. Link would be packing up, getting in his car, and making the drive to Asheville in two days. Rhett would be heading to Raleigh a day later, without Link, who had solidified himself as a constant presence in Link’s life for years, but especially in the last few weeks.

As the lights in the park dimmed, the realization dawned on them that they had one last few minutes where things were normal, then they would be cleaning up the park, packing everything up, and saying their goodbyes. Rhett walked up behind, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing his neck. “You ready?”

“No,” Link said, his voice catching in his throat as Rhett guided him to a place to relax. When it came time for the fireworks, every single person in the park stopped and watched, save for Mike, who ran the ferris wheel with it’s charity-donating riders seeking to be closer to the show. One of them had zero clue that the compartment they rode in had been home to the most magical part of Rhett’s life up to that point, and he couldn’t suppress the grin that came with that realization, no matter how tumultuous his insides felt at the moment.

Rhett leaned against a half-wall, holding Link to his chest. The lights were no longer dim, but completely off, and they were settled into the crowds of onlookers. As the first fireworks went off, he mentally cursed the fact that the show would be so short this year, barely existing at all after the mishap that had happened. The mad scramble to replace as many fireworks as possible on a shoestring budget took the show from twenty minutes to only five, but Link was just happy it was happening at all. He placed his hands on Rhett’s arms, clinging to him, then reached behind himself to pull Rhett into a kiss.

“I wish we had more time,” Rhett said into his ear, over the loud explosions that lit their faces.

“Hey, Rhett? You’re only going to be four hours away. Even though you picked the  _ worst  _ school on the planet, I have a feeling we have more than a few away games to meet up at, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Link. I think so.”

Rhett clung to that hope, to that promise. This wasn’t over. But then, with Link, it never was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who joined me on this journey. It's been a fun one, and I'm so appreciative for the kind words, the comments, and the love you've given it. Also, thanks, @mythical-trash for beta reading this one.
> 
> If you're on a roll and want to check out more of my stuff, I've got some suggestions of where to go next! If you want something about the same length and age range of this one, check out my threesome fic called [Thank You, Come Again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14608884/chapters/33765582). If you were hoping for some porn featuring just the two of them at this age, [Big](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12564664) is a good one shot to look at. If you want more pining!Rhett, go for [Penetrating Pastries](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14448936). And finally, if you want something that isn't smutty at all, [Ten Shots](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14284083) is your best bet.
> 
> Thanks again, lovelies, and have a great fall!

**Author's Note:**

> Updating every Monday. Feel free to hit me up with a comment or tumblr anon and let me know what you're thinking! :)


End file.
